Trivia and Quotes

Quotes (17)

Dustin Hoffman: (his views on marriage) There is something unnatural about marriage. These two people are not going to be the same people in a few years. The trick is to live your own life while sharing the same space.

(on Inside the Actors Studio):
James Lipton: What turns you off?
Dustin Hoffman: A parent with a kid, just yanking on him or her.
James: What sound or noise do you love?
Dustin: Collective joy, laughter.
James: What sound or noise do you hate?
Dustin: Someone saying "shut up".
James: What profession would you like to attempt?
Dustin: Something involving music or arts; where you don't need a collective joining.
James: What profession would you not like to attempt?
Dustin: A hunter.
James: Finally, if heaven exists what would you like to hear God say?
Dustin: That's funny, you don't look Jewish!

Dustin Hoffman: A "take" is an opportunity to fail... and we think that we have to get it right all the time.

Dustin Hoffman: When you get to be my age, you'll find out what an emotional mess you are. Female hormones surface more and more and you're gonna realize all of the emotional life you have missed by being tied to a maniac called testosterone. It is not a bad feeling to be emotional.

Dustin Hoffman: The truth is, I've made about 30 movies in 30 years, and I've been criticized for 30 years for not making more movies.

Dustin Hoffman: God knows I've done enough crap in my life to grow a few flowers.

Dustin Hoffman: There's a rebirth that goes on with us continuously as human beings. I don't understand, personally, how you can be bored. I can understand how you can be depressed, but I just don't understand boredom.

Dustin Hoffman: Now, I'm simply working with people I want to work with. I just want to have good working experiences and let the dice fall where they may.

Trivia (66)

Dustin Hoffman lost his virginity when he was 15 years old after his brother, Ronny, threw a party. The girl he slept with thought he was Ronnie.

While having dinner with Paul McCartney, Dustin told the story of the death of Pablo Picasso and his famous last words, "Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can't drink anymore." Paul had a guitar with him and immediately played an impromptu chord progression while singing the quote. Thus, Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me), one of the highlights of the Band On The Run album, was made.

Dustin was in talks to appear in Sidney Lumet's The Verdict (1982).

Apparently, Hoffman's screen test for The Graduate consisted of him fumbling his lines and awkwardly trying to grab Katharine Ross's behind, which angered her. As he left thinking he didn't get the role, his awkwardness was just what director Mike Nichols needed for Benjamin Braddock.

In Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft's first encounter in the hotel room (a scene from The Graduate), Anne did not know that Dustin was going to grab her breast. Dustin decided offscreen to do it, because it reminded him of schoolboys trying to nonchalantly grab girls' breasts in the hall by pretending to put their jackets on. When he did it onscreen, director Mike Nichols began laughing loudly offscreen. Dustin began to laugh as well, so rather than stop the scene, he turned away from the camera and walked to the wall. Dustin banged his head on the wall, trying to stop laughing, and Nichols thought it was so funny, he left it in.

Tootsie's crew would only give bad news to Dustin if he was in drag. They said he was "much nicer as a woman".

In Tootsie, he wanted Bill Murray to play his friend while director Sydney Pollack disagreed.

Dustin was Warner Brothers' first consideration for "The Penguin" in Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992). The part eventually went to Danny DeVito.